Mark Warburton says Apostolos Vellios will get his chance at Nottingham Forest if he keeps working hard – but his limited opportunities so far are merely down to the fierce fight for places in a quality Reds front-line.

The Forest boss praised the Greek international for demonstrating a positive attitude on the training ground – but he finds himself down the pecking order behind other options, who are performing well.

Daryl Murphy has made a big impact since his £2m move from Newcastle in the summer, scoring four goals in seven Championship starts and one sub appearance.

Jason Cummings has also hit the ground running since his move from Hibs, scoring three goals in the EFL Cup, Ben Brereton continues to look an exciting talent and Tyler Walker has impressed sufficiently to persuade Warburton not to send the 20-year-old out on loan again.

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All of which has left Vellios having to be patient for his chances, with the 25-year-old so far only getting a taste of the action in the EFL Cup tie against Shrewsbury.

Apostolos Vellios in action for his country (Image: Getty)

And when asked about Vellios, who was included on the bench at Stamford Bridge, Warburton said: “He is part of the squad. I have seen many people asking questions. But don’t forget we see them every day in training.

“There are a number of forwards here, in Daryl, Jason, Tyler, Ben Brereton – you can only play so many players, there are only 11 shirts.

“You always have this question of ‘why is he not playing, why is he not involved?’. It is because I can’t play a 5-9-4 formation to get everyone in.